Eggplants in a Yogurt and Poppy Seed Curry Recipe

Eggplants in a Yogurt and Poppy Seed Curry Recipe:

A delicious tangy Indian summer curry with eggplants cooked with yogurt and poppy seeds.

This one’s another delicious curried vegetable recipe that is perfect for summers. Small eggplants (aubergines or brinjals) cooked in a poppy seed and yoghurt curry with a dash of our very own Indian spices is just the right balance of flavours that a summer palate craves for. It is a light, tangy and flavourful curry that is both simple and stirred up in no time, now that’s another reason why the lazy me likes it all the more. I hope you’ll agree that standing in front of the stove for long in this soaring temperature is no fun even if cooking is your favourite job. Want it or not but we do have to succumb to physical limitations and that’s my reason to pick and share recipes that can be made in a jiffy or as little time as possible.

This curry tastes quite close to our celebrated North Indian favourite ‘Kadhi’ but the addition of poppy seeds in the gravy actually turns it into a cross between Punjabi and Bengali cooking I’d say. The Poppy seed paste adds a little density and mellowness to the curry and is awesome with Puris (Indian deep fried puffed breeds)or plain rice.

Ingredients (Serves 2):

400 gms small eggplants (You may use the bigger ones too, just cut them to chunky cubes)

3/4th cup curd

1 and ½ tbsp poppy seeds, made into a thick paste with water

1 tsp garlic paste

2 whole dried red chillies

1 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds

1/4th tsp turmeric pwd

1/4th tsp red chilli pwd

1 tsp dry coriander pwd

½ tsp roasted cumin pwd

2 pinch of Asafoetida

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Handfull of Curry leaves or Meethi Neem

1 tbs melted ghee (Indian clarified butter)

1 cup water

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash the eggplants; do not remove the stems just make a deep lengthwise incision halfway through each eggplant. Sprinkle salt and keep aside for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok and shallow fry the eggplants on medium heat until the skin is browned and it is almost cooked. Strain out on a kitchen towel and keep aside.

In the same wok add a tsp of ghee followed by brown mustard seeds, split red chillies, asafoetida and just fry until the mustard seeds pop. Then add the garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli pwd, coriander pwd and fry for just ½ a min on medium flame or until a little oil oozes out at the corner of the wok.

The add the curry leaves followed by the poppy seed paste and roasted cumin pwd and fry for just another ½ a min or a min. Beat the curd with 1 cup water and add stirring continuously. Increase the heat and cook till the gravy thickens, add salt to taste and the fried eggplants. Stir well and cover cook for just a minute, dress with fresh coriander or more curry leaves and serve.

Dos and Don’t’s:

Just be careful while adding the curd, make sure it is perfectly beaten and that you continuously stir the gravy while pouring it to avoid letting the curd curdle up.